SALVANIA, Rizza Mae V. R3- MHB2 Song Submitted to: Ms.

Kachela Mariano

August 14, 2013 Growth

BELIEVE IN ME

I'm losing myself Trying to compete With everyone else Instead of just being me Don't know where to turn I've been stuck in this routine I need to change my ways Instead of always being weak [CHORUS] I don't want to be afraid I want to wake up feeling beautiful today And know that I'm okay Cause everyone's perfect in unusual ways So you see, I just want to believe in me La la la la la la la la The mirror can lie Doesn't show you what's inside And it, it can tell you you're full of life It's amazing what you can hide Just by putting on a smile

[CHORUS] I don't want to be afraid I want to wake up feeling beautiful today And know that I'm okay Cause everyone's perfect in unusual ways So you see, I just want to believe in me I'm quickly finding out I'm not about to break down Not today I guess I always knew That I had all the strength to make it through [CHORUS] Not going to be afraid I'm going to wake up feeling beautiful today And know that I'm okay Cause everyone's perfect in unusual ways So you see, now, now I believe in me Now I believe in me

I'm losing myself. Trying to compete with everyone else instead of just being me. Four years ago, a timid and quiet-type of girl once existed. Focused in studying in her dream school, she became aloof from her classmates and spend most of her time in reading books and doing homework. A GC or grade conscious type was how they called her. She kept a small circle of friends who came only second on her list of priorities.

Don't know where to turn. I've been stuck in this routine. I need to change my ways instead of always being weak. She used to believe in luck and believed that by doing the same things every day, it would give her the similar feeling of contentment of how her day went as each passed by. This made her to be afraid of change for fear that such defiance would cause bad things to happen to her.

I don't want to be afraid and know that I'm okay because everyone's perfect in unusual ways. So you see, I just want to believe in me. But something in her knew that she was not living the life she wanted to have. She knew that by studying very hard and being a loner type of person does not let the people around her to see her true self. She knew in herself that she is not the quiet type of person and instead, she was the type who wants to sing with someone along the hallway while waiting for her next class. She perceived that by achieving academic excellence does not make her life as happy and fulfilling as showing 2

her true self and sharing happy moments with someone . So by the start of her Second Year in high school, she started to gradually remove her mask.

She, bit by bit, became me.

I'm quickly finding out I'm not about to break down . Not today. I guess I always knew that I had all the strength to make it through . Though at first, it was difficult for me to have friends that would accept me because of my background as a studious and distant person, I tried my best. Started by spending more time with an additional small circle of friends, I held my hand out to people whom I thought I would never be able to get close with. Sometimes I felt that what other people show me is just fake. They just treat me good whenever I am facing them but says bad things about me behind my back. However, I also realized that that was the nature of life. I must select people whom I will trust because there are a lot of people who wears mask and does not show their true colours. I must not let them get under my skin and just ignore their insults. Despite that, I also must not judge and stop myself from mingling with them because just like her, I used to be like them. From then on, I just became true to myself and know that it is better to make friends without pretending to be somebody I am not. By showing my true identity, real friends will accept me.

Not going to be afraid. I'm going to wake up feeling beautiful today. So you see, now I believe in me. With the help of my friends and family, I can now wake up every morning knowing that there are no more routines that I would follow for luck, knowing that this new day will be full of surprises, knowing that I have my friends who will be with me sharing my happiest and even the saddest moments of my new life. Now, I believe that I dont have to rely on luck to surpass each day. Now, I believe that bad things are meant to happen for us to learn new things and should not be avoided . Now, I believe that I have true friends who will be with me. Now, I believe in me.

Applying Erik Eriksons Psychosocial Stages of Development, specifically the identity versus role confusion crisis, this song, BELIEVE IN ME, by Demi Lovato, focuses on what I have been through during the first two years of my high school life. I used to show my classmates myself the GC and the quiet side of me that I also thought is the real me but I overcame that identity crisis and became the real me, the one who sings out loud with her friends whenever she feels to and the one who is not afraid of standing out.